Veggies for Breakfast

I can’t seem to get over veggies for breakfast. Last week I had a fried egg over asparagus, as seen on Good Eats. It changed my breakfast life!

Okay, maybe it’s not so dramatic, particularly since this morning’s veggie is not new to my breakfast table, but it does get me inspired for new breakfast options.

I’ve been hung up on asparagus for a while. I had two bunches in my fridge since they’ve been on sale at Walmart for the past few weeks, and I never turn my back on asparagus that’s on sale! But since I only have one serving of stalks left (which I want to reserve for another fried egg venture later on this week), I tried to think of something different. I remembered the scrambled-eggs-and-goat-cheese-on-toast that Smitten Kitchen had on her site not long ago. Then I remembered the asparagus frittata we had at our B&B on our honeymoon. Then I remembered that I have plenty of spinach. Oh, and the leftover leeks! And the muffins I baked last week are in the freezer! Before long, I had breakfast…

Spinach, Leek, and Goat Cheese Frittata

1 tbsp olive oil

1 leek (white parts only), rinsed of dirt and grit, diced

2-3 big handfuls of fresh spinach, coursely ripped

8 eggs (I’ll admit I used 5 eggs+3/4 cup egg beaters today, since I was trying to save my eggs)

2 tbsp half-and-half (I used fat free)

salt and pepper to taste

3 oz goat cheese

Preheat oven to 400.

Saute the leeks in the olive oil over medium heat in an oven-proof skillet. Cast iron works great. Enameled cast iron would be wonderful!

When leeks are translucent, add spinach and saute until spinach is just wilted and has taken on a deeper color of green. Remove leeks and spinach from pan and set aside.

Mix up the eggs, half-and-half, and salt and pepper. Add to skillet and roughly scramble until chunks of cooked eggs begin to appear in the custard. Add back the spinach and leeks, carefully distributing evenly throughout the pan. Let cook for a few more minutes.

Crumble goat cheese and drop evenly throughout the pan. Move pan to the hot oven and allow to cook for about 10 minutes, or until there’s just a little bit of raw egg on top. When you see this, change the heat to broil, and cook until top is lightly puffed and you begin to see a little crust form around the edges.